Centralised stop smoking service opened

Staff and council officials celebrate the opening of the new town centre hub

Published:08:46Friday 10 June 2016

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A new town centre stop smoking hub has been opened, centralising the borough’s quit support and advice services.

The Smokefree St Helens was opened in the Hardshaw Centre on Church Street.

Former smoker Sue Hewitt with a staff member at the stop smoking hub

Previously, a number of hubs were dotted across the borough, including one in Thatto Heath.

The new centre will provide help and advice on stopping smoking and is commissioned by St Helens Council and provided by City Health Care Partnership.

Its chief executive Andrew Burnell said: “We are very excited about providing this I think it’s brilliant that we can provide this brand new Hub, it will really help us to reach out to the public of St Helens and help to support them in quitting smoking.

“We’re always looking for new and innovative ways to improve our service and reach out to the public and this is just the latest development.

“We’ve also launched QuitPal, an app that allows you to access stop smoking support on your phone, wherever and whenever you need it.”

Coun Jeanie Bell, cabinet member for Public Health and Wellbeing, said: “It’s great now that we have the Smokefree St Helens Service in the heart of the town, providing a central access point for stop smoking support.

“Having a central hub will help the service reach out to more people and will hopefully encourage passers-by who are considering quitting smoking to drop in and ask for help.”

Sue Hewitt, 57, from Thatto Heath, used the service to help her kick the habit.

She said: “I came to Smokefree St Helens because smoking was making me ill. But I’ve been smokefree for two years now and it’s all down to the support I got from the team.

“I’m still in touch with them for regular support, but I’m feeling much healthier these

days, and I’d recommend anyone thinking of quitting to come to the Hub and see what you can achieve.”